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Circuit Game
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build a game that tests their steadiness. Learners construct the game board by setting up an electrical circuit and a wand.
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Fan Cart
Source Institutions
If a sailboat is stranded because there is no wind, is it possible to set up a fan on deck and blow wind into the sail to make the boat move?
![](/sites/default/files/styles/square_100/public/resource_images/smile-000-000-000-653.png?itok=69YhohO-)
Kinetic Sculpture: Program the Pico Cricket to Make Your Art Light Up or Spin
Source Institutions
Use a Pico Cricket (micro-controller) to animate your art! You can program a Pico Cricket to make your art spin, light up, or make music.
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Electric Paddle Boat
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build an electric two-paddle boat using paint paddles, plastic knives, and empty water bottles.
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Creepy Crawlers
Source Institutions
Trick your family and friends with this creepy crawler that moves up and down. In this activity, learners construct a circuit and motor device that will move a homemade spider in a spooky way.
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Aluminum-Air Battery: Foiled again!
Source Institutions
Construct a simple battery that's able to power a small light or motor out of foil, salt water, and charcoal. A helpful video, produced by the Exploratorium, guides you along on this activity.
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Cup Speaker
Source Institutions
Make your own speaker with a magnet, wire, and paper cup! If you have a radio with a headphone plug and an old pair of headphones, this is a great tinkering activity.
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Human Battery
Source Institutions
Learners place their hands on different metals and use an ammeter to monitor the flow of electricity from one metal to another.
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Smart Domino Tricks
Source Institutions
In this activity, you take regular dominoes, and turn them into conductive switches that can turn on a LEGO RCX block or Pico Cricket (micro controller). LEGO RCX block or Pico Cricket is required.
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Circuit Board
Source Institutions
Learners make a circuit board that has questions and answers. When the correct answer is chosen for a question, a circuit is completed and a light illuminates.
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Flat Flashlight
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build a tiny but powerful flashlight out of simple materials. Use this activity to introduce learners to electrical circuits and conductivity.
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Make a Speaker: A Coil, a Magnet, and Thou
Source Institutions
Make your own simple speaker so you can listen to your favorite radio station. Just wind a coil, attach it to a piece of cardboard or Styrofoam, hold a magnet nearby, and listen.
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Electric Switches
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners incorporate a simple switch into a battery/bulb circuit. Learners will use their knowledge of circuits to design and make their own switches using common materials.
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Musical Sculpting Machine: Squeeze Play-Doh to Make Music
Source Institutions
Play-Doh is conductive! Use the semiconductive qualities of Play-Doh to make your own squeezable instrument. Pico Cricket is required.
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Build a Bubble Circuit
Source Institutions
In this engineering design challenge, learners make a bubble maze that allows bubbles to move through a series of “on” and “off” switches.
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Speak to Me
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners will create a speaker using a paper cup, magnet, and enameled wire. Also included in this activity is a Mr.
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Fruit Xylophone: Fruit Salad Instrument of the Future!
Source Institutions
This is a perfect summertime lunch activity! Pico Cricket is required (micro controller). First, get a bunch of cut up fruit, line them up, then plug a piece of fruit with a Pico Cricket sensor clip.
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Electric Messages: Then and Now
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore electronic communication, the Morse Code system, and advances all the way through text messaging. Learners build a simple circuit, send messages to one another.
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Interactive Pencil Drawings: Drawings That Tell a Story!
Source Institutions
Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, a Minnesota artist, came up with this really fun and surprising activity using graphite from a pencil, connected with a Pico Cricket to tell a story: "The first time I saw s
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Flashlights and Batteries
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how a flashlight works, showing the electric circuit and switch functions of this everyday household item.